whats the minimum tank size for a male dovii

[caribemob]

Sorry it took me so long to respond to this thread. I'd meant to reply since being made aware of it.

Given the inclination of many members of this site to keep giant or '/V\onster' fish, the ‘less than ideal housing situation’ for many fish is frequently revisited.

I have said that a single male dovii, can, in my experience, live well in a 180. It's certainly better than a 100, 120, or even a 125.

Not everyone can provide a larger tank than that. If you have the resources to provide tanks that are of a more grand scale - that’s awesome! It’s closer to an ideal situation than a 180 gal tank.

If your dovii grow too large for your tank or you no longer wish to dedicate an entire tank to an individual fish, there are many folks on this site that would be more than happy to purchase an adult male dovii.

I'm disappointed to read sentiments that I would say as much just to make a sale.
Do I really need to sell someone a dovii so desperately that I have to make a statement in which I don't believe or cannot get behind?
The answer is no way.
I've talked more customers OUT of fish which they wanted to buy on more occasions than you could imagine. Again, I'm not in this business to make a quick sale or fast buck. Tangled Up In Cichlids is far from a 'Johnny come lately' effort at turning over a few fish.

In my experience, the average maximum size of a male dovii in an aquarium tends to hover around 17-18". Of course there are larger individuals here and there (including several very well represented fellows as seen right here on MFK). So just like there are 7’ tall people here and there, some 20+” dovii will be found in the trade.

Ideally, a tank should be relatively wider than the maximum TL of a fish at full size. I have no qualms about that concept.
I still believe that 6’ of length and 18” front to back is sufficient (and not cruel) to grow up a male dovii. Remember to change water. Lots of water. Every week. That’s essential for keeping any of these fish we know and love. Bigger fish = bigger water changes.

A fish is not often totally perpendicular to the front glass wall of their tank.
This is not completely unlike the concept of when you (or your children) are trying out a new bicycle. Many times my kids would say to me "we can barely touch the ground when sitting on the seat". How many times did I have to reply that you don't find yourself in that position except right now in the store. Otherwise, you and the bike are in motion. Your feet are on the pedals while moving, and you hop off the seat and straddle the bike when you're stopped.

I wouldn't want to get reported to the 'fish police' or ichthyo-humane society patrol for mistreatment of fish. I would, however, like to make a brief, related statement in regards to the male dovii tank size issue.

Back in the mid-70's (yes, that’s after the Dark Ages and also following the Industrial Revolution-thank you very much), filtration was hardly up to snuff with the technology with which we have available today.

My brother and I had 13 tanks between our two bedrooms - the largest of tanks we kept then were 55 gallons.
He had a pair of oscars in a 55 with a big Pimeloid cat and a gold fish that that neither oscar wanted to eat, so it grew up with them in there.
Oh the horrors-right? All those big, messy fish in a 55! True. I do not condone this behavior. However, we had a completely wonderful, aquarium-keeping-preteenager time of it. We changed a lot of water in our tanks. Saturday morning was 'Water Changin' Blues' time, but we weren't blue. We loved it, loved keeping our fish, while learning all we could about them as well.

This 70's flashback occurred to me as I was writing this reply.
You see, how many of you/us became interested in this great hobby via a similar route?

OK, I hope I made my point without too much of a history lesson thrown in there.

I do believe that a male dovii can grow and live in a 180 without suffering a lesser quality of life.

Good read jeff , I Feel the same way about a 180gal, of course if you have a bigger tank then that's even better but a min. 8' tank is just extra IMHO for just a male , but if you have the space ,That's cool

 

[flowerpower]

I'm currently spawning my pair in a 65 with very little interest in moving them into one of my larger tanks any time soon. I hate to say it but, I'm not a big 'wet pet' guy. I am bored by male only show tanks with fish who've lived together, or alone, for so long that they swim in circles all day oblivious of their tankmates- or perform the same rote behaviors over and over again like they're in solitary confinement.
I enjoy my fish the most when they're spawning; that's when I find their interactive behavior most intriguing. I also love the challenge of working with new species.
For this reason, most of my fish will not max out in my tanks before being sold, traded or re-homed.
The exceptions to this rule are few. Of what I'm keeping now, my male Jag is the oldest at 5 yrs and 14" but if someone where to offer me $100 for him right now I wouldn't hesitate to sell him so that I could turn around and buy something new and exciting to fill his place (a guy like Jeff who sells fish has to appreciate that).
My male zonatus (a beast), my male Odo or my male dovii will likely fill his spot as the 'fishroom mascots' but if not, I'm sure someone else out there will get more pleasure out of these guys at that point than I.

Some may think that this is cold or inhumane but I beg to differ! Bottom line is that they are well cared for and in great condition due to the quality of food and water provided them. If and when I lose interest they will go to somebody to whom they are 'new fish', sparking renewed interest and the desire to maintain the same level of care for them as I had.
I mean, let's not be hypocritical: as a society we eat beef, pork, poultry and fish that are raised in far worse conditions than the ones I'm providing. At least I (we) aim to recreate a tiny slice of their natural habitat with the hopes, of not only keeping them alive and healthy but, of inducing their natural behavior while we have them.

 

[David R]

Good post Jeff. Sounds like we have a little of the "chicken or the egg" situation here. What came first, the 17" dovii or the 180 gallon tank? Hahaha!

There are only a handful of dovii in captivity in the 20" plus range. Perhaps it would be interesting to know the tank sizes those fish enjoy. My biggest male (which, by the way, I obtained from Jeff Rapps years ago) lives in a 10' x 4'. I know Mel's is in a 8'x4', and Reagan's big monster was in an indoor pond.

You make a good point, and although a big tank with dirty water will never be as good as a smaller tank with clean water, a big tank with good water is going to yield a bigger fish. I would agree that the small number of dovii over 20" in the hobby is related to the average size of the tank they are kept in. I've been keeping fish for 10+ years now and have noticed increased growth in cichlids, bichirs, loaches, plecos and just about every fish I've ever kept when put in a larger tank.
Yes there will always be variance in the maximum size of fish as there is with people, but I would be willing to put money on it (if someone could afford the time and space to do the experiment!) that if you were to take 20 male dovii from the same batch of fry and raise 10 in 600g tanks and 10 in 180g tanks (keeping food, water parameters etc all the same of course) that the 10 in the 600g tanks would be larger on average. There is some truth in the old "fish only grow to the size of their tank" adage...

 

[armac]

I guess I am different I kept a lot of cichlids and spawned them when I was younger. Now my interest is to raise my dovi to their largest size, breeding the entire time.

Jeff will not make a bunch of money on me. But I will be in the hobby 10 years from now as I have been for the last 30

To each his own.

 

[oscaroo]

Many sources are wrong. one of my fish books said that they needed a 72 gallon tank. That is Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo wrong!!!!

 

[PhishMon84]

Why is this whited out? Seems counter productive